You must have come across a video or commercial about cleaning or renovating a house many times. I doubt that an internet post like this ever made you reach for a tissue to wipe away your tears, though.
However, the video that is the central theme of today’s story is just that – it brings tears to the eyes, even though it starts as an ordinary display about painting the stairs in the house.
I don’t even need to tell you that the protagonist of this short but heartbreaking story is one canine fellow.
Heart-Wrenching Reason
On January 21, 2024, a TikTok user, @shariblivin, posted a video that attracted a lot of attention. Just like I said in the introduction, the video started as some ordinary explanation about how to renovate a house – in this case, paint worn-out stairs.
However, someone who read the caption of the video before skipping it and moving on to the next one in the mass of social media content could have concluded that it was about something much more special.
“I refinsihed my stairs… i painted the steps black.” the caption reads but then continues. “But there was one step i could NOT paint over.”
In the video itself, it is at this moment that a tear-jerking twist comes in, where an old picture of Shari’s beloved Golden Retriever, Max, lying on that step, appears and reads: “This is HIS step he would even sleep here.”
Things become completely clear when Shari reveals that exactly one year ago, her Max passed away. He left this world in a place just below the staircase – under his favorite step, lying down on her lap.
Although there is no “tissue warning” at the end of the video, I will warn you to prepare yours. The final words are the ones that are sure to make even the hardest of hearts cry.
“I did paint the stairs. I do love them. But I just could not bear the thought of covering up that step,” Shari said on the verge of tears. “So now it’s forever his.”
These are the words that became eternity and, although they are no longer together in this world, they forever bonded Max and his human.
@shariblivin I refinsihed my stairs… i oainted the steps black. But there was one step i could NOT paint over. One year ago today, my dog Max, passed away. He out his bead on my lap and went to forever sleep. He loved hos step. He even slept on it. Haha so i made it a forever tribute to him. The bestest dog, ever.
♬ original sound – Shari B
“Cry Me A River”
I don’t know about you, but for me, it wasn’t easy to watch this video to the end, even though it doesn’t last more than a minute. All the emotion in just a few visual records and words is simply unbelievable.
The reactions and comments of many people who were caught by this video show that all of them were also overcome.
“I JUST cried to this tiktok because of emmy or Emma’s duet 😭,” one user wrote.
Another followed up in a similar tone: “You have no right breaking my heart first thing in the morning 🥺🥺🥺”
And, a third quipped: “this was the perfect way to honor Max ❤️”
Although this video must have touched the hearts of all those who watched it, it was certainly the hardest for those who also lost their beloved furry friend.
Fortunately, sadness doesn’t have to last forever because there are many ways to remember your pet who crossed the rainbow bridge.
From donating his favorite tennis balls to the local dog park to visiting a Real-Life Rainbow Bridge, there are many ways to keep those memories alive.
That’s why you don’t have to cry a river for your loved one, but remember him appropriately so that the wound can heal. Sometimes, it is enough just to extend your step over one stair for your souls to reunite again.
This short video is the longest testimony to that.